Bank of England deputy governor says still too early to raise rates - ITV

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England does not yet need to raise interest rates as unemployment is still high and wage growth well below pre-crisis levels, Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent said in an interview to be broadcast later on Thursday. Broadbent reiterated that the central bank intended to raise rates only gradually when the time came, and told broadcaster ITV that he did not expect large numbers of people to face financial difficulty as a result of higher rates. "I would lean against the view ... that any rise in interest rates would cause calamity for a very large number of households. I think that's an exaggeration of where we are at the moment," Broadbent said, according to a transcript of an interview provided by ITV. Economists polled by Reuters expect the BoE to raise interest rates from their record-low 0.5 percent early next year. (Reporting by David Milliken, editing by Andy Bruce)